Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Rudeus’s Battlefield

THE WATER GOD STYLE has five secret techniques of great power. All were created by the first Water God to ever hold that title.

It’s said that anyone capable of using three out of the five is worthy of the title of Water God. In the long history of the style, there were numerous Water Gods who managed to learn four—but none except the first had ever mastered all five. The Water God Reida Lia was no exception to the rule. She had learned only three of the five techniques, like many of her predecessors.

Reida was an old woman now. Her peak physical years had long since passed, and with every year her strength and agility declined further.

Why, then, did she still possess the prestigious title of Water God? 

Was she simply immensely talented?

That was part of it, of course. Reida Lia had been a true prodigy in her youth, and her natural gifts were comparable to those of any Water God who’d gone before her. But her talents alone weren’t enough to compensate for the ravages of age.

Were there no others skilled enough to claim the role?

Far from it. By now, there were several other living swordmasters who’d learned three of the Water God’s secret techniques. And yet, none of them had even tried to succeed Reida as the Water God. Calling themselves unworthy of the title, they’d left it in Reida’s hands and content themselves with the rank of Water Emperor.

But why?

It was because Reida had mastered the two most difficult of the five secret arts. And by cleverly combining these two, she had created something of her own: a skill that might be called an illusion of sorts… or perhaps the sixth secret technique.

It was known as the Blade of Deprivation, or the Deprivation Field. With a certain stance, she could cut down anyone within a certain range around her—no matter where they were positioned. The zone of effect was a perfect sphere with Reida at its center. When anyone within that zone took a single step, she could instantly counterattack them.

“Don’t any of you move a muscle, now. Unless you want to end up like them.”

The first to react to Reida’s sudden appearance had been Arumanfi the Bright, one of Perugius’ loyal servants. In the blink of an eye, he’d moved directly behind the old woman—only to be cut cleanly in two. His lifeless body had dissolved into particles of light and disappeared.

The next was Trophymus the Wave. He’d raised his hand toward Reida and tried to fire something at her. Maybe he’d even gotten the attack off. But Reida simply turned her sword briefly, and Trophymus was cut in half as well. 

The next was me. I fed a pulse of mana into a ring on my finger, and Reida instantly cut my left hand off… or would have, at least, if it wasn’t for the magically-enhanced gauntlet I was wearing. Her blade had struck it at the fingers, partially destroying it; I’d frozen in shock.

The next was one of the high nobles at the table. He’d leapt to his feet and tried to flee, only to have the tendons in his leg severed. A second blow knocked him out, silencing his screams. Reida had used the blunt side of her sword.

None of the bodyguards could move. Neither could Eris, who you might have expected to jump in first. Neither could Ghislaine, or Ariel, or Perugius, or his surviving spirits.

And neither could I.

Reida had us pinned in place like insects on a board. We’d all realized, by now, that this entire room was within her range. Any movement, any attempt at action, would instantly be fatal.

“…Looks like everyone’s frozen up. All right then. Auber?”

When Reida turned her gaze his way, Auber was standing stiffly in place just like everyone else. Even a swordsman of his caliber couldn’t break free of Reida’s overwhelming power.

“Wh-What can I do for you, madam…?”

“You can cut off a couple heads, for starters. Let’s see… Go kill Ariel and Perugius. And Quagmire, too.”

With that, Auber became the one and only person in the room capable of movement. But instead of stepping forward, he stared at Reida with an uncertain expression on his face. “You… you want me to do this?”

“Use your head, boy. Who else is gonna do it?”

“But…”

Auber shot a quick glance at Eris. Watching this from the corner of her eye, Reida spat scornfully onto the floor. 

“I guess having that girl on the other side was always gonna be a problem, huh? No wonder both your ambushes were so half-assed. Even cowards like you want to play the swordsman for their students.”

The harsh words spilled from Reida while she remained stationary, in the exact same stance.

“Look, kid. What did you take that fat sack of money for, anyway? You just here to cash in on your fancy title, let three of your old buddies die, and then watch your client get his head cut off?”

“…”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the guy who fights dirty?”

“…I suppose you’re right.”

With that, Auber moved into action. He drew a sword with his right hand and began to walk toward the head of the hall, where Ariel was standing.

Shit. What now? What do I do? I can’t move!

The Man-God had outplayed us this time. By dropping a single swordmaster in at the perfect time, he’d turned the tables in an instant.

Orsted had told me how to deal with the Water God in battle. His advice, basically, was to make sure I never let this happen. The instant you spotted her, you were supposed to get outside of her range of vision before she could assume her stance. It didn’t matter which way you fled; the most important thing was to move while you still could.

Too late for that now, though.

“…Good lord! What’s going on here?!”

At this point, a group of guards who’d presumably heard the commotion burst into the hall. They were knights in silver armor… who looked kind of familiar, actually.

“D-Drop your swo—”

“Don’t any of you move!”

Reida’s voice, fierce as thunder, stopped the group of novice knights in their tracks. But one among their number ignored her warning. Taking several steps forward into Reida’s zone of control, they pulled off their helmet and tossed it to the ground.

It was Isolde Cluel, the Water King.

What was she doing here? There weren’t supposed to be any knights on duty inside the palace tonight. Ariel had seen to that. Was this Darius’ doing? Maybe he’d positioned a group of novices nearby, on the off chance it would come to this. Or was it just a coincidence?

“Master Reida! What… What on earth…”

“Ah. Hey there, Isolde…”

“Why are you using your technique in the middle of this gathering?!”

“Calm down, girl. I’ll explain… What you’re seeing here is a horrific crime, perpetrated by Reida Lia and Auber Corbett.”

“What…?”

Isolde furrowed her brow in confusion, but Reida kept right on talking. 

“You see, the two of them were working on behalf of… let’s say the King Dragon Realm, why don’t we? Dazzled by promises of great wealth, they agreed to assassinate all the major nobles in Asura. But after murdering Ariel and a few others, Reida was cut down by a novice knight who happened to be posted nearby. Isolde Cluel becomes a hero, and the Water God Style lives on.”

With a small laugh, Reida paused to glance toward the First Prince.

“Pretty solid story, if I do say so myself. Do me a favor and go with something like that, Grabel.”

“What are you saying, Master?! Have you lost your mind?!”

Isolde started to take another step forward, but stopped in mid-stride. She’d probably sensed that Reida was now prepared to cut her down, just like all the others.

“…Do it, Auber. And make it snappy.”

“…”

“What, you think you’re gonna hurt the North God Style’s reputation or something? Too damn bad. I’m cleaning up your mess here, boy! Hurry up and grow a pair!”

Auber lifted his sword and turned back towards Ariel, but then he paused and shook his head indecisively. The man was obviously conflicted.

“Why are you just standing there, Auber?!” screamed Darius. “Kill Ariel now! And that lying harlot, too!”

Was he talking about Triss? It made sense that he’d want her dead too. If any evidence remained of his crimes, the other nobles could use it to undermine him in the future. Even after Grabel took the throne. “Don’t worry about what happens next! I’ll take care of everything!”

For whatever reason, Darius’ words seemed to help Auber finally make up his mind. His face took on a slightly different expression, and he turned back toward Ariel.

Shit. Is this it? Are we done?

“Tch…”

I could see Eris bracing herself to move—to risk everything in a last-ditch attempt to escape Reida’s zone of control.

“No, Eris.”

“But—”

“Please. Don’t.”

“…So what do we do, then?”

I didn’t want to watch Eris die. But she did have a point. What were we supposed to do here? I had no good answers. What if we all acted, at once? No, that wasn’t going to work. This wasn’t a technique you could overcome that easily. And while I was relatively close to Reida, the others were just too far away.

Could Perugius do something? He hadn’t moved an inch this entire time. Right now, he seemed to be staring in my direction with a vaguely bored expression. I could almost hear him saying “And what do you intend to do about this disgraceful state of affairs, Rudeus Greyrat?”

Considering that two of his subordinates had just died, he didn’t look remotely concerned. Did he have some sort of plan in mind? No, I couldn’t put my faith in that possibility. There was no time for wishful thinking. Auber was seconds away from killing Ariel, and I had to do something about it.

I had to act. It was the only option. And I had to attack both Auber and Reida at the same time. 

The best option was my Electric spell. I’d be hitting others in the area as well, but I couldn’t afford to care right now. Even if it didn’t take Reida or Auber out, there was a chance that the shock would leave them stunned. Masters of the Water God Style were capable of deflecting magic itself, so the odds of success weren’t great… but there was a chance it would work.

“Rudeus…are we doing this?”

Eris had read my thoughts from the expression on my face. Her fingers twitched slightly as she sent me a meaningful look. Apparently, we’d be dying together. 

Sorry, Sylphie. Give me a nice funeral, all right?

“Hm?!”

But just as I was bracing myself to act, I felt a jolt in the core of my body.

“Good lord, is that…?”

Auber had flinched violently and stopped in his tracks. A great bead of sweat rolled down Reida’s face.

It wasn’t just those two who’d been affected. Almost everyone in the room had begun to tremble. Their faces had gone pale, and their bodies were visibly quivering, even as they stood immobile, frozen in place by Reida’s sword.

A wave of relief washed over me. Apparently, I’d succeeded in passing mana to my ring.

“Well, this ain’t good,” muttered Reida. “Now I really wish you’d kept your trap shut about killing the princess, Darius…”

“…Wh-What is this? What’s happening?!” Darius yelped. “Why can’t I stop shivering?!”

“Change of plans, Auber. Hate to do this to you, but can you grab Darius and make a run for it? Right now, please.”

Auber blinked in confusion. “But why Darius, rather than Prince Grabel?”

“I might be an old bag of bones, but I’ve still got a debt or two that needs repaying,” said Reida with a small smile. “Go on, get moving! At this rate, everyone in the room’s gonna end up dead.”

Auber considered this for just a moment, then nodded. He darting over to Darius, grabbed him by the arm and dragged his weighty body away from the table.

“This way, sir.”

“V-Very well…”

The two of them disappeared through the closest door, different from the one the novice knights had used to enter. No one could stop them. Reida still had all of us totally pinned down.

A heavy silence settled over the hall.

“Good grief. Wonder how far they’ll manage to get? No guarantee he’ll even come for me first, now that I think about it…”

“…Why him?”

As the Water God muttered to herself, someone else had spoken up. It was Ariel. Her expression had remained steady and composed this entire time, even in the face of death. But she seemed genuinely puzzled by Reida Lia’s attempt to save Darius’ life. It didn’t make much sense to me either, to be honest.

“Why, why, why! Everyone’s so damn nosy today… Look, there’s nothing that interesting about it, all right?”

Reida smiled to herself for a moment, looking genuinely amused, and then continued.

“Here’s a little story for you. This was way back when a certain old lady was just a scrawny kid. Everyone was calling her a prodigy at the time, and lord, was that ever going to her head… One day, this girl beat the tar out of some snotty noble in her training hall. Then he came back for revenge with about two dozen friends. She was down and out in no time, and they were just about ready to cut off both her arms. So she could never hold a sword again, see? And that was when this noble boy who outranked the other kid showed up. And saved her.”

…Wait, what? This was Darius?!

“When the girl made it all the way to Water King and got picked to be the royal sword instructor, she went looking for that boy to express her gratitude. But by that point, he’d already turned into a selfish blob of a man with all the charm of a jellyfish. Didn’t even remember her.”

…Hm.

“You better believe she was disappointed. I mean, this guy never had a pretty face, but she’d taken him for the pure, good-hearted type, at least. Sometimes she’d even done a bit of girlish daydreaming about their reunion.”

Reida seemed to be looking far off into the distance. I was almost tempted to think it might be safe to move.

“Anyway, the girl’s first love ended then and there…but I wouldn’t say it turned to hate, exactly. Her gratitude and disgust cancelled each other out.”

The Water God told her story. Briefly, in the little time she had. Knowing that her audience wouldn’t care. Almost like she was making a confession.

“To tell the truth, she forgot about all this herself. But on the road to Asura many years later, she got this peculiar message in her dreams. Told her she’d get the chance to repay the man, if she went back to serve the royal court one last time.”

She was the Man-God’s pawn after all. And right now, the man who wanted to destroy her master was heading straight this way. I could feel his overwhelming, terrifying aura growing stronger as he rushed through the palace with incredible speed. Auber would be running in the exact opposite direction. I didn’t have the ability to keep track of his location, but I felt confident of that. The man had a sixth sense for danger, after all. 

“What a joke, right? All this for some man she’d forgotten years ago.”

Silence.

“But when she looked back on it, now that she was old and grey… putting all that silly romance business to one side… she realized that the debt she owed was never actually paid. It was just sitting there for decades, accumulating interest.”

Reida paused for a moment, and them her eyes snapped fully open.

“…Looks like he’s here.”

The door to the hall burst open, and a single man walked inside.

“Eeeee!”

Everyone in the room flinched in terror at the sight of him. Some lost control of their bladders. Others collapsed to the ground. Some glared at him like he was their mortal enemy. But all of them were thinking the same thing, more or less: He’s going to kill us all.

Like Perugius, his hair was silver, and his eyes were golden. But his face was horrifyingly fierce.

Orsted had finally arrived.

“It’s been a while, Dragon God. Here to take an old lady to the afterlife?”

“Yes. You’re a disciple of the Man-God. That means you die.”

“A disciple, eh? Hmm…so you let me off the hook before because I wasn’t a disciple then? Good lord. Guess I’ll go out fighting one hell of an opponent, at least.”

With a quick glance around the room, Orsted began to walk in a straight line toward Reida. He didn’t even hesitate.

“Deprivation Field!” 

Reida’s sword became a blur, its shape shifting with impossible speed. Every time Orsted took a step, the blade struck at him with a golden flash, briefly connecting them with an illusionary yellow string.

And yet, Orsted warded off every blow. Sparks danced in the air around him. 

He was deflecting her slashes with his bare hands.

One step. Two steps. Three. As he grew closer, the air filled with bigger and greater sparks. Reida’s strikes were growing steadily more powerful.

Still, Orsted didn’t stop. In no time at all, he was right in front of Reida.

“Die.”

And just like that, it was over. Orsted’s spear-hand strike punched straight through Reida’s chest, and he tossed her body to the side like a rag doll.

“No! Master Reida!” screamed Isolde.

The Water God’s deadly zone of control had disappeared. Still, no one moved. It was as if time had stopped entirely inside that room. Nobody understood what had just taken place. But their minds were consumed with the fear they might be next.

Isolde was the first to break the spell. Her legs trembling, she drew her sword and pointed it at Orsted. 

“How dare you… How dare you!”

His face a mask of indifference, Orsted stepped out onto the terrace and leapt off it into the open air. Isolde sprinted toward the terrace in pursuit.

“Sir Rudeus!” shouted Ariel, abruptly snapping out of her own paralysis. “You must follow Darius and Auber! We can’t allow them to escape!”

With those words, everything was suddenly in motion.

The nobles of Asura tripped over each other in their desperate scramble to escape. The bodyguards hurried to their sides. And Eris, Ghislaine, and I rushed to the nearest exit, following the path Auber and Darius had taken.

“R-Rudy?! What just happened in there?!”

We nearly ran right into a very startled Sylphie in the doorway. I considered taking her with us for a moment, but quickly decided against it. Isolde was still in the hall, staring down from the terrace in a state of shock. It seemed she’d given up on catching Orsted, but…

“Sylphie, you stay with Princess Ariel! Keep an eye on Isolde—she might try something! We’re going after Darius!”

“Got it!”

Leaving Luke and Sylphie behind to protect the princess, the rest of us burst out of the room and took off running.

I wasn’t entirely sure why Ariel had told us to follow Darius with such urgency in her voice. It felt like the outcome of our contest was basically decided at this point. A part of me wondered if it would really make a difference if Darius got away, but maybe that was just because I’d heard the Water God reminisce about their past together.

There was another reason Ariel might have given that order. She was a sworn follower of the Dragon God now, just like me. Maybe she felt we couldn’t risk allowing a disciple of the Man-God to escape.

Either way, we were going to kill Darius. That had always been the plan.

“This way!”

Guided by Ghislaine’s nose, we sprinted down the endless hallways of the palace with almost reckless speed. Eris and Ghislaine hadn’t questioned Ariel’s order at all. The enemy had fled, so we were going to hunt him down and kill him—for them, it was probably just that simple.

There were few guards in the hallways. We did see some on occasion, but they seemed to be busy chasing someone else entirely. I heard one of them shout “He fled toward the king’s residence!” so it might well have been Orsted.

“…I see them!”

Without anyone to interfere, we caught up with our prey in a matter of minutes. Darius was wheezing loudly as Auber carried his sizable bulk through the hallway ahead of us.

“Tch!”

With a sharp glance back in our direction, Auber pulled Darius onto his shoulder and fled into the nearest room. 

We caught up within seconds and burst inside—then stopped in our tracks. Darius was sitting flat on the floor, and Auber was standing in front of him, waiting with his sword already drawn.

“…Kuh, guuh! Gahaah… haah…”

From his awkward seated position, the High Minister of Asura stared up at us furiously.

“Th-This can’t be happening,” he muttered. “It’s wrong, all wrong…”

“Come now, Lord Darius. Sometimes life doesn’t play out exactly as we wish it,” said Auber calmly. “Perhaps it’s time to accept things as they are, and try to think our way out of this dilemma?”

“I did everything as God commanded me!” Darius objected, his face quickly taking on a crimson hue. “It’s not right that I should be cornered like a rat!” 

“…Goodness, you’re certainly a pious one. In that case, perhaps try to catch your breath and say a few prayers for my victory.”

Scratching at his cheek, Auber lifted his sword with a resigned expression on his face. For the first time, he was prepared to face us head-on in battle.

“North Emperor, Auber Corbett,” he called out in a steady, formal tone of voice.

Eris drew her sword and raised it high above her head. And Ghislaine brought her hand to her sheathed blade, ready to draw and strike in a single motion.

“Sword King, Eris Greyrat.”

“Sword King, Ghislaine Dedoldia.”

Hmm. Should I be giving my name too?

As I hesitated, Darius suddenly jumped up and pointed at Eris. “That red hair…you’re a Boreas, aren’t you?! You’re a Boreas Greyrat, girl!”

Eris grimaced in open disgust at the man’s sudden interest. “Not anymore, I’m not.”

“I… I’ve been an ally to the Boreas family! A true friend!” Darius shouted, sending spittle flying, like he hadn’t even heard Eris’ reply. “I supported them financially after the calamity in Fittoa!”

Now that he mentioned it…he was the guy who’d funded the Fittoa Search and Rescue Squad, right? I seemed to remember he had some impure motives for doing so, but it was hard for me to dismiss his point entirely. Regardless of his reasons, that money had helped a lot of desperate people.

“That’s got nothing to do with me!”

That’s our Eris. Couldn’t care less!

“I… I helped James, as well!”

James… meaning the current head of the Boreas family, and Eris’ uncle.

“I helped him take control of the family! I protected and rebuilt House Boreas, when the other nobles would have crushed it!”

Hmm. That part, it’s much harder to give a damn about.

“It’s because of me that Fittoa is being reborn at this very moment!”

What? Let’s not go telling any lies, now. “Actually, we got a look at the Fittoa Region on our way to the capital. It sure doesn’t look like the reconstruction’s moving very fast.”

“You know nothing of these matters, boy!” said Darius furiously. “If the Boreas family had been crushed completely, the other great lords would be cutting the region up for sale by now! The whole area would be a weed-choked wasteland!”

That actually sounded kind of plausible. Things were definitely not developing quickly in Fittoa. But maybe all the alternatives would have turned out worse? Maybe?

“You could have saved old man Sauros too, if you were trying to help…”

The words slipped out of my mouth in a mutter, but Darius heard them anyway—and his face contorted with anger.

“Sauros?! Don’t be ridiculous! The man had all the prudence of a wild boar! He wanted to use the entire fortune of House Boreas on rebuilding Fittoa, without a thought for the consequences!”

Definitely a bold, brave decision…but it did sound foolish under the circumstances. If the Boreas family went under, the whole region would end up falling prey to the other nobles anyway.

“James begged me to put a stop to that foolishness, and I did exactly that. I goaded Pilemon into action! I cornered that blundering old fool and had him executed! I put James in control! I’m the only reason the Boreas family and the Fittoa Region still exists! So please, have mercy! Let me go free—that’s all I ask!”

Ah… so that’s how it really happened, huh? Makes sense. Sorry, but I think you’re out of luck. If you’re the one who egged Pilemon on and arranged Sauros’ execution—

“So that makes you the murderer of my grandfather, right?” said Eris.

“I see. That clears things up,” said Ghislaine, nodding. Then she bared her teeth and grasped her sword tightly. “I’m going to kill you now.”

“Eee!”

As Darius shrieked and stumbled backward, Auber sighed wearily. “It seems our negotiations have broken down.”

With that, the final round began.

“Huff… puff…”

From the look of things, Darius had finally come to terms with reality.

He dropped into the closest chair, he stared at the ground and took a number of long, deep breaths. It was hard to believe he’d been screaming at us in a frenzy only moments earlier. “Can you win this fight, Auber?”

“Difficult to say. Two Sword Kings would be challenging enough, but that magician is quite troublesome.”

Auber stood with Darius at his back, facing us with two swords in his hands. His expression was perfectly calm, but his eyes darted back and forth constantly. It almost looked like they were moving independently from each other.

“I know,” said Darius after a moment. “God told me the same thing.”

“What did he say, specifically?”

“That a magician wearing a grey robe would murder me. But perhaps his words were lies from the very start. It was God who told me to destroy the teleportation circles, in the face of all opposition…and to call you back to the palace, where we could harden our defenses. The result was this catastrophe.”

So the Man-God had been moving things around behind the scenes, then. It seemed Orsted was right—the guy wasn’t much of a chess player. He seemed like the type who’d really enjoy murdering entire armies in a Dynasty Warriors game, though.

“Handle it, Auber,” said Darius quietly. “This is what I hired you to do. Fighting multiple opponents is your specialty, is it not?”

“Understood… But in the event of my victory, I will require that special reward.”

“Of course. It’s yours, as promised.”

As they spoke, Auber turned his attention fully on the three of us. This time, he was going to face us head-on.

Eris and Ghislaine lowered their waists and leaned slightly forward, gripping their weapons tightly.

“North God Style—Crimson Ink.”

“Graaaaah!”

“Raaaaaah!”

As Auber murmured the name of his opening technique, Eris and Ghislaine leapt to attack.

But I knew, even as they moved, what the words Crimson Ink meant. Orsted had told me about this one, too. At some point, Auber had managed to lay a trap on the floor—on the surface of the room’s rich red carpet. I could just make out the small red balls sitting on it.

Of course, it was too late to do anything about them.

“Gah!”

“Hnh?!”

There was a loud bang from the floor at Eris and Ghislaine’s feet, like the sound of a balloon popping. Thick, sticky liquid splattered in all directions, gluing the soles of their shoes to the carpet. 

Those little red balls, the creation of a master apothecary, contained a powerful instant adhesive. The process of making them was complex, so I couldn’t remember all the details… but the bottom line was that any strong shock would cause them to explode and spray their contents in the vicinity. The adhesive they contained was monstrously strong. Strong enough to stop Eris and Ghislaine in their tracks.

“Flash Flood!”

I quickly responded with a spell directed at their feet, which washed the sticky mess away. Auber’s glue was vulnerable to water. When it came in contact with moisture, it had lost all its adhesive power instantly.

However, Eris and Ghislaine had already been thrown off balance. They’d lost the speed and steadiness they needed for their strongest techniques. But their strength kept them from pitching forward, and they tried to follow through regardless.

It was too late.

Auber was already in motion. He was already passing in between them.

Ghislaine’s blade came to a halt, as did Eris’. They were both masters of the aggressive Sword God Style, but even they weren’t about to use the Sword of Light on a target with an ally right behind him. It would mean killing both.

Auber wasn’t going for Eris, and he wasn’t going for Ghislaine.

“You’re first, Rudeus Greyrat.”

He was after me.

Auber swings both his swords down at me.

“Earth Shield!”

But I knew when and where his attack was coming. Thanks to all my sparring sessions with Eris, I could see it clearly with my Eye of Foresight.

I thrust out my left hand, blocking the trajectory of one sword with what was left of my gauntlet. With my right arm, I moved to block the other sword with a shield I’d summoned out of thin air.

“North God Style—Nebulous Cross!”

Auber’s hands are suddenly a blur.

Releasing both swords in mid-air, the North Emperor ducked low to the ground and reached for another blade at his waist.

I saw all of this in advance. The Eye of Foresight showed his movements to me just fine. But that Earth Shield was already on my right forearm, covering it like a buckler. To deflect Auber’s strike, I’d made it hard, and dense—and heavy. I couldn’t move it fast enough to defend against this new attack.

My left hand had already met Auber’s first sword head-on. My heavy, magically enhanced gauntlet had lost its fingers earlier, but it had taken the blow. It was still firmly clutching at the blade.

Auber was going to draw and strike in one smooth motion as he pitched forward. There was no way to defend myself. Not in time. I had no choice but to take the hit. 

Springing into the air from half-bent knees, I took Auber’s strike to my left leg.

Something hot swept through my shin. And when I landed, the leg crumpled under me.

Falling to my right knee, I looked down at the injury. Auber had cut right through my shin. The rest of my leg was dangling by a thin layer of skin and sinew.

It took a second for the pain to hit me.

“Eeaagh!”

I ground my teeth and endured the agony as best I could. From the corner of my eye, I could see Eris already in motion. Ghislaine had spun around as well.

I’d survived. Now the three of us could surround Auber. He had no place to run.

“…?”

But then I noticed something—some slight movement in the background of the room. What now? Did Auber have some other ninja trick up his sleeve?

No. There was someone else moving on the far side of the room. It was Darius, and… he had his right hand pointed our way.

“Let the vast and blessed flame converge at thy command—”

Eris and Ghislaine had noticed as well. Their responses were very different, however. Eris spun around and headed straight for Darius, while Ghislaine placed herself between him and me and faced Auber.

“Fireball!”

A flaming projectile shot from Darius’ hand, its speed and size sufficient to kill.

“Hmph… Guh!”

With a swift swing of her sword, Eris cut the fireball in half in midair. But as she did so, a small kunai-like dagger came flying from across the room to hit her in the flank.

I swung my attention back to Auber. Still in the low stance from which he’d thrown the kunai, he was just about to block a fierce strike from Ghislaine. He couldn’t stop it fully. Ghislaine’s sword sliced right through Auber’s and slashed into his shoulder. But the cut was too shallow—she hadn’t cut his arm off entirely.

“Hnh!”

“Graah!”

Auber leapt backward with an acrobatic somersault. Eris was waiting for him where he landed; but the dagger in her side seemed to be slowing her down, and Auber warded off her strike without difficulty.

“…”

Shit. He’s going to take his distance.

I wasn’t sure exactly why, but my gut told me it would be a major problem for us if Auber slipped out of melee range.

But why was it a problem? He had all sorts of bizarre techniques he might try… No, that wasn’t it. My leg was hurt, and Eris might not be able to run. If Auber managed to grab Darius right now and make a run for it, Ghislaine would be the only who could pursue him.

That’s right… We’ve got to take Darius out, then.

Tossing my Earth Shield aside, I pointed my staff at the portly man across the room.

“Stone Cannon!”

“Hm?! Hwoooh!”

The projectile zipped along at ferocious speed, but Auber drew his sword and sliced it apart in midair. 

Of course, I’d expected this to happen. That wasn’t an ordinary Stone Cannon I’d fired off just now.

“Wha—”

The two halves of the projectile, deflected off-course by Auber’s strike, exploded right next to Darius. This was a variation on my go-to spell that I’d devised while travelling the Demon Continent many years ago. I called it the Burst Stone Cannon.

“Gyaaaaaaagh!”

It looked like the fragments of the projectile had caught Darius right in the eyes. He grabbed desperately at his face and curled into a crouch.

“Hm?!”

Auber’s eyes flashed back toward him for a moment.

“Aaaaah!”

In that instant, Eris sprung forward and unleashed the Sword of Light.

“Hnh?!”

Auber…blocked it. He actually blocked it. Turning his sword sideways, he met the blow with the very thickest part of its blade. Eris’ sword cut quickly through Auber’s, and finally sunk into his arm. But the cut was shallow. Her injury was probably preventing her from fully executing her technique.

“Graaaaah!”

Ghislaine was on him as well.

Auber tried to evade her strike. But the Sword of Light wasn’t the kind of attack you could just dodge. It was the unstoppable, inescapable trump card of the Sword God Style.

There were ways to counter it, of course. You could disrupt its user’s movements, throw them off balance, or position yourself somewhere they couldn’t use it. By taking measures like that in advance, you could prevent them from cleanly executing the move.

Auber had done exactly that throughout this battle. But at the very end, he simply couldn’t.

Ghislaine’s flawless Sword of Light slashed into him at the shoulder and ripped its way down his flank.

“…Splendidly done.”

Murmuring those final words, Auber collapsed to the floor.

He lay flat on his back, a pool of blood spreading out around him; for a few moments, he twitched and quivered. But then the light faded from his eyes, and he stopped moving at all.

He was dead.

“Aaaah, my eyes, my eyes! Auber! Help me, Auber!”

Across the room, Darius was still curled up, clutching at his face and screeching. My spell had taken the fight out of him entirely.

Ghislaine walked over and looked down at him for a moment. Then she glanced over at me and Eris.

We both nodded.

Without a word, Ghislaine swung her sword down.

The blood sprayed far enough to hit me on the cheek.

***

We left Darius’ corpse as it was, lying right there in the room. 

This was a request Ariel had made well in advance. No matter where or how we killed him, she wanted us to leave his body where it fell. It was very likely she’d be accused of his murder later on, but apparently, she believed this would actually improve her public image. The High Minister sure hadn’t made himself too many friends and admirers.

“Phew…”

He was dead, and we’d murdered him. The man had it coming…but it still left a sour taste in my mouth. I hadn’t finished him off myself, but that was hardly relevant. I’d killed Darius as much as Ghislaine had. I’d killed Auber for protecting him, and then I’d killed him as he squatted on the ground, blind and helpless.

For the first time, it felt real. I knew, deep down, I was a murderer.

I wasn’t sure why it was different this time. Maybe it was because this one had been so up close and personal. Hard to say.

With a small sigh, I shook my head. It wasn’t worth dwelling on, was it? This was the path I’d chosen, and I had to come to terms with that.

In the aftermath of the battle, we moved into the room next door, and I used one of the King-tier healing scrolls Orsted had given me to treat my injury. It worked even better than I’d hoped; my nearly severed leg was right back to normal in an instant.

I was still feeling kind of cold, though. Probably because of all the blood I’d lost. 

Eris was next up. Her face had gone pale as she watched me treat myself. But once it was over, she pulled up her own shirt quickly enough, revealing her alluringly well-defined—

“…Huh?”

The wound in her side was bright purple. That could only mean one thing. Auber’s kunai had been poisoned.

I tried Elementary and Intermediate Detoxification magic on it. To no effect whatsoever.

For a moment, I just stared at the wound, cold sweat running down my back. But then I remembered something Orsted had told me. Auber favored one specific kind of poison, it wasn’t lethal, and he carried the antidote with him.

Hurrying back into the other room, I rifled through Auber’s clothes until I found what I was looking for. I had Eris drink some of the antidote, and then spread some on her wound as well. Just to be on the safe side, I also took some, since he’d wounded me with his sword.

After a few anxious minutes, the color of Eris’ skin slowly returned to normal. I breathed a shaky sigh of relief. If that had been a more powerful poison, she might well have died.

Thank God. That was way too close…

As I continued working on her injury, Eris murmured “Nice job dodging Nebulous Cross, by the way.”

I wanted to say I hadn’t exactly dodged it. But I’d managed to avoid a fatal blow, so maybe that counted. “I only pulled that off because of all my sparring sessions with you, Eris. I’ve seen even faster slashes, so I managed to react in time.”

“You know, I never even dodged that one myself…”

There was a hint of sadness on Eris’ face as she said that. Auber had been one of her instructors at the Sword Sanctum. The memories of those days were probably flashing through her mind.

But a moment later, she shook her head. “Well, whatever.”

Now that’s a girl who puts the past behind her quickly. I’m kind of envious.

Anyway. The bottom line was that Eris, Ghislaine, and I had all survived. We’d won the battle we were here to fight.

“All right then,” I said, rising to my feet. “Shall we head back?”

“Sure.”

“Let’s.”

Now, all that remained was our triumphant return.

When the three of us walked back into the hall where the party had been held, we found a surprise waiting for us. But not the fun kind.

“…Huh?”

Luke had a sword held to Ariel’s neck, while Sylphie furiously glared at him with her rod in her hand, and Pilemon knelt on the floor.

What the hell is going on here?

As we stood in the doorway, stunned, Luke’s gaze flashed over at me. And then he spoke. His words weren’t directed at me, though; he was speaking to Sylphie.

“If you want to save Princess Ariel, kill Rudeus here and now.”

In reply, Sylphie—